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Post - To put your blind or ante into play by placing on the table in front of you.
Most poker games require that players put up a predetermined amount of money prior to the start of the deal, which automatically
becomes part of the pot once the hand is in play. These obligations can come every hand, as
antes in Seven Card Stud do, or a couple of times a
rounds, in the form of blinds. When a player puts
blind money or ante money into the pot, it is referred to as “posting.”
Blinds and antes are important because they seed the pot. It is necessary to seed the pot, because seeding the pot greases the action
by giving multiple players an incentive to bet. Without this incentive, the action would be scant. Players will bet only when they
perceive that the reward for doing so is worth the risk. If there is no pot established, marginal hands are not worth the risk of
betting them. Seeding the pot artificially increases the reward for entering the pot and incentivizes betting.
Players are expected to know when it is their turn to post. In a stud game, antes are posted every hand before the start of the deal.
Most stud players are in the habit of posting on time. A few players are habitually late posting their antes, and are constantly being
prompted by the dealer to do so. This behavior can slow down the game considerably, and opposing players are likely to be annoyed by it.
In flop games and
draw games, blinds must be posted in turn, rather than
every hand, as is the case with antes in stud. New players are also sometimes required to post in order to join the action. Players should
automatically post their blinds when it is their turn. If they do not post on time the dealer will ask them to, probably by saying “blinds up,
please.” If the player still refuses to post their blind, they will be given a missed blind button and will be dealt out. If a player receives
one or more missed blind buttons, they must post their blinds before they can be dealt in again. Usually, the player will have the option to
either post immediately before the start of the next hand, or to wait, and post their blinds in turn. If a player refuses to take his blinds
for a long enough period of time, his chips may be picked up by the floor person, and he may be replaced by another player.
A player is required to make up all missed blinds before he can be dealt in. This usually means that if he wants to be dealt in
immediately, he would have to post both a big blind and a small blind, regardless of how poor his position is. On the other hand, if
he chose to wait until it was his big blind, he would be allowed to take it in turn without having to make up the small blind. This is
an attractive option to those players who do not want to pay more in blinds than they absolutely have to, and do not want to give late
position players preflop postion on their postings. Other players may not recognize or care about subtle differences in posting
strategy. They usually want to get back in action right away after missing blinds, and prefer to post immediately.
Poker sessions can last for several hours at least, so it is perfectly reasonable to take a missed blind button from time to time, and
miss a round or two. While this works out for cash games, it is not an
option for tournament play. In order to provide a fair and level playing environment, missed blind buttons are not used in
tournaments. Each player must post their blinds
and/or antes on every hand. If a tournament player is not present at the table during the deal, blinds and antes will still be removed
from their stack and posted for them, and they will be dealt in accordingly. This is called “blinding off.”
Usage: Posted Both Blinds, Post A Dead Small Blind, New Players Post
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